5 Fen / Cents

The Bank of Taiwan's 1949 low-denomination issues were emergency stopgaps, printed locally in Taipei immediately after the new Taiwan Dollar was introduced in June 1949 to replace the collapsed Old Taiwan Dollar at a rate of 40,000 to one. The Central Engraving and Printing Factory had only recently been established on the island, and these tiny notes were among its earliest productions — the limited press capacity of a facility still finding its footing shows in the relatively simple execution.

The Nationalist retreat to Taiwan that year created acute demand for small change that coin production could not quickly satisfy.